Editing Hindu–Islamic relations

{{Hinduism and other religions}}
{{Islam and other religions}}
Interactions between [[Islam|Muslims]] and [[Hinduism|Hindus]] began in the 7th century, after the advent of the former in the [[Arabian Peninsula]]. These interactions were mainly by trade throughout the [[Indian Ocean]]. Historically, these interactions formed contrasting patterns in northern and southern [[India]]. While there is a history of conquest and domination in the north, Hindu-Muslim relations in [[Kerala]] and [[Tamil Nadu]] have been peaceful.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism/Hinduism-and-Islam |title=Hinduism and Islam |author=Vasudha Narayanan |author-link=Vasudha Narayanan}}</ref> However, historical evidence has shown that violence had existed by the year 1700 A.D.<ref name=hindunationalism>{{cite web|url=https://www.bu.edu/cura/files/2018/11/VF_new15914.pdf|title=Precolonial Ethnic Violence:The Case of Hindu-Muslim Conflict in India|first1=Ajay|last1=Verghese|first2=Roberto Stefan|last2=Foa|publisher=Boston University|date=November 5, 2018|accessdate=April 7, 2023}}</ref>

In the 16th century, the [[Mughal Empire]] was established. Under the Mughals, India experienced a period of relative stability and prosperity.<ref>{{harvnb|Chua|2007|p=126}}</ref> The [[Mughal dynasty|Mughals]] were known for their religious tolerance, and they actively patronized the arts and literature. During the Mughal era, [[Indian art]] and culture thrived, with the construction of grand monuments such as the [[Taj Mahal]] and the [[Red Fort]]. While the Mughals fostered religious harmony and cultural advancements and nurtured Hindu scholars, poets, and artists, facilitating a dynamic cultural interchange that enriched both [[Islamic art|Islamic]] and [[Hindu art|Hindu]] traditions, there were instances of religious [[Mughal–Rajput Wars|conflicts between the Mughals and the Rajput]] over control of territories. [[Aurangzeb]] was criticized for his policies of religious intolerance towards Hindus.<ref name="religion2">{{harvnb|Chandra|2007|p=252}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mehrotra|first=Abhishek|date=December 9, 2017|title=The Real History of Hindu-Muslim Relations Under Akbar|url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/12/the-real-history-of-hindu-muslim-relations-under-akbar/|website=The Diplomat|access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref>

During the 17th to 20th centuries, [[British Raj|India was ruled by the British]], who introduced a policy of [[divide and rule]] to maintain their control over the country.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rehman|first=Aziz|date=May 11, 2018|title=The British Art of Colonialism in India: Subjugation and Division|url=https://nsuworks.nova.edu/pcs/vol25/iss1/5/|website=Peace And Conflict Studies Journal|access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Randall|date=August 10, 2017|title=The Partition: The British game of 'divide and rule'|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/8/10/the-partition-the-british-game-of-divide-and-rule|website=Al-Jazeera|access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Belkacem|first=Belmekki|date=2014|title=Muslim Separatism in Post-Revolt India: A British Game of "Divide et Impera"?|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44280740|journal=Oriente Moderno|volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=113–124 |doi=10.1163/22138617-12340041 |jstor=44280740 |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref> The British also introduced a system of separate electorates, which further exacerbated the divide between the Hindu and Muslim communities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tharoor |first=Shashi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=atcqMQAACAAJ |title=Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India |date=2017 |publisher=Hurst |isbn=978-1-84904-808-8 |pages=101 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Katju2013">{{cite web |author1=Markandey Katju |url=http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/02-Mar-2013/the-truth-about-pakistan |publisher=[[The Nation (Pakistan)|The Nation]] |title=The truth about Pakistan|access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110103720/http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/02-Mar-2013/the-truth-about-pakistan |archive-date=10 November 2013 |language=en|author1-link=Markandey Katju }}</ref> The [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], also known as the First War of Independence, was a major uprising against British rule in India. The rebellion was fueled by a range of grievances, including [[Causes of the Indian Rebellion of 1857|economic exploitation, social and religious discrimination]], and political oppression.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|pp = 100–103}}{{sfn|Brown|1994|pp = 85–86}}<ref name="Williams2006">{{Citation |last=Peers |first=Douglas M. |title=A Companion to 19th-Century Britain |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pcMC7ANpmoC&pg=PA63 |page=63 |year=2006 |editor-last=Williams |editor-first=Chris |chapter=Britain and Empire |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-5679-0}}</ref> While the rebellion was not solely based on religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims, these tensions did play a role in fueling the conflict. During the rebellion, there were instances of both [[Hindu–Muslim unity|Muslim and Hindu soldiers and civilians fighting together]] against the British, as well as instances of conflict between the two communities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Robb|first=Peter|date=May 18, 2017|title=On the Rebellion of 1857: A Brief History of an Idea|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4419572|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=42 |issue=19 |pages=1696–1702 |jstor=4419572 |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=May 13, 2020|title=1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue|url=https://www.counterview.net/2020/05/1857-war-of-independence-when-hindu.html|website=Counter View|access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=YADAV|first=SANJAY|title=The Indian Mutiny of 1857: Why Britain Succeeded and the Rebels Failed |date=1994|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41930953|journal=Journal of Asian History|volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=136–153 |jstor=41930953 |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref>

Islam and Hinduism share some ritual practices, such as [[fasting]] and [[pilgrimage]], but their views differ on various aspects. There are also hundreds of shared ritual spaces, called dargahs (literally, “doorway” or “threshold”), for Hindus and Muslims. These mark shrines for revered Muslim (frequently Sufi) leaders and are visited by both Muslims and Hindus. Their interaction has witnessed periods of cooperation and [[Din-i Ilahi|syncretism]], and periods of [[religious discrimination]], [[Religious intolerance|intolerance]], and [[Religious violence|violence]]. As a [[Religion in India|religious minority in India]], Muslims are part of the Indian culture and have lived with Hindus for over 13 centuries. Despite the longtime assertion that the origins of Muslim-Hindu tensions were greatly attributed to 19th Century British colonial rule in India, it has been argued that Britain had little influence on constructing the religious identities of Islam and Hinduism in the region and that divisions existed beforehand as well.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/the-origins-of-hindu-muslim-conflict-in-south-asia/|title=The Origins of Hindu-Muslim Conflict in South Asia|first=Akhilesh|last=Pillalamarri|publisher=The Diplomat|date=March 16, 2019|accessdate=April 7, 2023}}</ref> For example, [[Mughal–Maratha Wars|18th-century Mughal–Maratha Wars]]. Ajay Verghese argues that the Hindu-Muslim conflict in India can be better understood by analyzing the historical relationship between the two communities. He contends that precolonial India was marked by a fluidity of religious identity and that religious boundaries were not always clear-cut. This led to a degree of intermingling between Muslims and Hindus, but also created conditions for tension and conflict.<ref name=hindunationalism />

==Theology==
[[Islam]] is a [[Monotheism|monotheistic religion]] in which God is called [[Allah]], and the final [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] is [[Muhammad]], whom Muslims believe delivered the central Islamic scripture, the ''[[Quran|Qurān]]''.<ref name="EncyclopediaofIslam">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Gardet |author-first=Louis |year=1960 |title=Allāh |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor1-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. J. |editor2-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor3-last=Heinrichs |editor3-first=W. P. |editor3-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |editor4-last=Lewis |editor4-first=B. |editor5-last=Pellat |editor5-first=Ch. |editor6-last=Schacht |editor6-first=J. |editor6-link=Joseph Schacht |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam#2nd edition, EI2|Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition]] |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=1 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0047 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref> Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal faith of a [[Fitra|primordial faith]] that was revealed many times through earlier prophets such as [[Adam in Islam|Adam]] (believed to be the first man), [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]], [[Moses in Islam|Moses]], and [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]], among others; these earlier [[Islamic holy books|revelations]] are attributed to Judaism and [[Christianity and Islam|Christianity]], which are regarded in Islam as [[People of the Book|spiritual predecessor faiths]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reeves |first=J. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNId86Eu4TEC |title=Bible and Qurʼān: Essays in scriptural intertextuality |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2004 |isbn=90-04-12726-7 |location=[[Leiden]] |page=177}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Abulafia |first=Anna Sapir |date=23 September 2019 |url=https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/articles/the-abrahamic-religions |title=The Abrahamic religions |website=bl.uk |publisher=[[British Library]] |location=[[London]] |access-date=25 February 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712150432/https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/articles/the-abrahamic-religions |archive-date=12 July 2020}}</ref>  The Quran and the [[Hadith|''Ḥadīth'' literature]] are the primary [[Islamic holy books|Islamic scriptures]], while the ''[[sunnah]]'' consists of the Islamic traditional customs and practices which all Muslims are expected to follow. Throughout its rich history, Islamic civilization has made notable scientific achievements which encompassed a wide range of subject areas especially [[Medicine in the medieval Islamic world|medicine]], [[Mathematics in the medieval Islamic world|mathematics]], [[Astronomy in the medieval Islamic world|astronomy]], [[Arab Agricultural Revolution|agriculture]] as well as [[Physics in the medieval Islamic world|physics]], [[History of Islamic economics|economics]], [[List of inventions in the medieval Islamic world|engineering]] and [[Ibn al-Haytham|optics]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=David A. |year=1983 |title=The Astronomy of the Mamluks |journal=[[Isis (journal)|Isis]] |volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=531–55 |doi=10.1086/353360 |s2cid=144315162}}</ref><ref>Hassan, Ahmad Y. 1996. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150434/http://www.history-science-technology.com/articles/articles%208.html Factors Behind the Decline of Islamic Science After the Sixteenth Century]." Pp. 351–99 in ''Islam and the Challenge of Modernity'', edited by S. S. Al-Attas. Kuala Lumpur: [[Ibn Khaldun International Institute of Advanced Research|International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization]]. Archived from the [http://www.history-science-technology.com/articles/articles%208.html original] on 2 April 2015.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854295.pdf|title=Contributions of Islamic scholars to the scientific enterprise}}</ref> The consequence of Islam's rigorous monotheism led to a degree of [[panentheism]], sharing similarities with the Hindu idea of the Absolute (Brahman).<ref name="10.1163_1573-3912_islam_SIM_2884">Burton-Page, J., “Hindū”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 12 December 2023 {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_2884}}
First published online: 2012
First print edition: {{ISBN|9789004161214}}, 1960–2007</ref> The Islamic mystical tradition predates contact with Hinduism, and Hinduistic monotheistic interpretations seem to be influenced by Islamic Sufism.<ref name="10.1163_1573-3912_islam_SIM_2884"/> The concept of Brahman was rarely subject of criticism from the perceptive of Islamic ''tawhid'', rather the Hindu belief that prophecy wouldn't be necessary to guide mankind.<ref name="10.1163_1573-3912_islam_SIM_1214 Barahima">Rahman, F., “Barāhima”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 12 December 2023 {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1214}}
First published online: 2012
First print edition: {{ISBN|9789004161214}}, 1960–2007</ref>

[[Hinduism]], also called ''[[Sanātana Dharma|sanatana dharma]]'' (eternal dharma), is an [[Indian religions|Indian religion]] and a [[Dharma|way of life]] primarily practiced in the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Knott |first=Kim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p4kzNzII3zAC&pg=PA6 |title=Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction |date=24 February 2000 |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-160645-8 |pages=3–5 |access-date=27 October 2015 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229174324/https://books.google.com/books?id=p4kzNzII3zAC&pg=PA6 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hinduism mostly shares common terms with the [[Dharmic religion|dhārmic religions]] that it influenced, including [[Buddhism]], [[Sikhism]], and [[Jainism]].<ref name="BEH1">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Coward |author-first=Harold |author-link=Harold Coward |year=2018 |origyear=2012 |title=Tolerance and Responses to Religious Pluralism |editor1-last=Basu |editor1-first=Helene |editor2-last=Jacobsen |editor2-first=Knut A. |editor2-link=Knut A. Jacobsen |editor3-last=Malinar |editor3-first=Angelika |editor4-last=Narayanan |editor4-first=Vasudha |editor4-link=Vasudha Narayanan |encyclopedia=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=4 |doi=10.1163/2212-5019_BEH_COM_9000000167 |isbn=978-90-04-17895-3 |issn=2212-5019}}</ref> The central [[Hindu texts|scriptures of Hinduism]] are the ''[[Śruti|Shruti]]'' and ''[[Smriti|Smruti]]'' texts''.'' Shruti texts consist of the four ''[[Vedas]]'' (which comprise the original Vedic hymns, or ''[[Samhita]]s'') and three tiers of commentaries upon the ''samhitas'', namely the ''[[Brahmana|Brāhmaṇas]]'', ''[[Aranyaka|Āraṇyakas]]'', and ''[[Upanishads]].''<ref>{{cite book |last=Klostermaier |first=Klaus K. |author-link=Klaus Klostermaier |year=2007 |title=A Survey of Hinduism |url=https://archive.org/details/surveyhinduismth00klos |url-access=limited |location=[[Albany, New York]] |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |edition=3rd |isbn=978-0-7914-7082-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/surveyhinduismth00klos/page/n64 46–49]}}</ref> These texts are considered to be authentic knowledge and wisdom of the past, collated, compiled, and codified into written form for future generations. [[Smriti|''Smruti'']] texts includes the ''[[Ramayana|Rāmāyana]]'', ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]'', ''[[Bhagavad Gita|Bhagavad Gītā]]'', and ''[[Puranas|Purānas]]'', which are also considered to be sacred Hindu texts.

==Comparisons==
===God and deities===
{{main|God in Hinduism|God in Islam}}

==== God ====
[[Hinduism]] is a system of thought in which the concept of God varies according to its diverse [[Hindu culture|traditions]].<ref name="BEH2">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Narayanan |author-first=Vasudha |author-link=Vasudha Narayanan |year=2018 |origyear=2009 |title=Gods, Goddesses, and Divine Powers (overview article) |editor1-last=Basu |editor1-first=Helene |editor2-last=Jacobsen |editor2-first=Knut A. |editor2-link=Knut A. Jacobsen |editor3-last=Malinar |editor3-first=Angelika |editor4-last=Narayanan |editor4-first=Vasudha |encyclopedia=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=1 |doi=10.1163/2212-5019_BEH_COM_103 |isbn=978-90-04-17641-6 |issn=2212-5019}}</ref><ref name="Lipner 2010">{{cite book |last=Lipner |first=Julius J. |author-link=Julius J. Lipner |year=2010 |origyear=1998 |title=Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oH1FIareczEC |location=[[London]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=Second |page=8 |isbn=978-0-415-45677-7 |oclc=698586925 |quote=[...] one need not be religious in the minimal sense described to be accepted as a Hindu by Hindus, or describe oneself perfectly validly as Hindu. One may be polytheistic or monotheistic, monistic or pantheistic, even an agnostic, humanist or atheist, and still be considered a Hindu.}}</ref><ref>Lester Kurtz (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, {{ISBN|978-0123695031}}, Academic Press, 2008</ref><ref name="MK Gandhi">MK Gandhi, [http://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/essence_of_hinduism.pdf The Essence of Hinduism], Editor: VB Kher, Navajivan Publishing, see page 3; According to Gandhi, "a man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu."</ref> Hinduism spans a wide range of beliefs such as [[henotheism]], [[monotheism]], [[polytheism]], [[panentheism]], [[pantheism]], [[pandeism]], [[monism]], [[atheism]] and [[nontheism]].<ref name="BEH2"/><ref name="Lipner 2010"/><ref name="Chakravarti 1991">{{cite book |last=Chakravarti |first=Sitansu S. |year=1991 |title=Hinduism, a Way of Life |chapter=The Hindu Perspective |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_-rASTgw8wC&pg=PA70 |location=[[Delhi]] |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |pages=70–71 |isbn=978-81-208-0899-7 |oclc=925707936 |quote=According to Hinduism, different religions are but alternate ways toward the same spiritual goal. Thus, although spirituality is a necessary quest for human beings, the religion one follows does not have to be the same for everyone. [...] The first Hindu scripture, the ''[[Rigveda]]'', dating back to at least 4.000 years, says: "Truth is one, though the wise call it by different names." The ''[[Mahabharata]]'', which includes the ''[[Gita]]'', is replete with sayings meaning that religious streams, though separate, head toward the same ocean of divinity.}}</ref><ref name="EBpolytheism">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smart |first=Ninian |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |title=Polytheism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/polytheism |date=10 November 2020 |origyear=26 July 1999 |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |location=[[Edinburgh]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111205729/https://www.britannica.com/topic/polytheism |archive-date=11 November 2020 |access-date=25 April 2021}}</ref> One popular theological interpretation is the [[Advaita Vedanta]] tradition, which relies mainly on the ''[[Upanishads]]'' and declares [[Absolute (philosophy)|absolute]] [[monism]], exemplified in the concept of ''[[Brahman]]'' (the ultimate reality).<ref name="Leeming 2014">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Leeming |first=David A. |author-link=David Adams Leeming |year=2014 |title=Brahman |editor-last=Leeming |editor-first=David A. |editor-link=David Adams Leeming |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion |page=197 |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |location=[[Boston]] |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_9052 |isbn=978-1-4614-6087-9 |quote=For Hindus, especially those in the [[Advaita Vedanta]] tradition, Brahman is the undifferentiated reality underlying all existence. [[Brahman]] is the eternal first cause present everywhere and nowhere, beyond time and space, the indefinable [[Absolute (philosophy)|Absolute]]. The gods are incarnations of Brahman. It can be said that everything that is Brahman. And it can be argued that Brahman is a [[Monotheism|monotheistic concept]] or at least a [[Monism|monistic]] one, since all gods – presumably of any tradition – are manifestations of Brahman, real only because Brahman exists.}}</ref><ref name="BEH3">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Ram-Prasad |author-first=Chakravarthi |author-link=Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad |year=2018 |origyear=2010 |title=Brahman |editor1-last=Basu |editor1-first=Helene |editor2-last=Jacobsen |editor2-first=Knut A. |editor2-link=Knut A. Jacobsen |editor3-last=Malinar |editor3-first=Angelika |editor4-last=Narayanan |editor4-first=Vasudha |editor4-link=Vasudha Narayanan |encyclopedia=Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=2 |doi=10.1163/2212-5019_BEH_COM_2050070 |isbn=978-90-04-17893-9 |issn=2212-5019}}</ref> When a person is devoid of ignorance (''[[Avidyā (Hinduism)|Avidyā]]''), they find the truth by realizing that their true nature, pure soul, or inner Self (''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|Ātman]]'') is identical to ''Brahman''.<ref name="Halligan 2014">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Halligan |first=Fredrica R. |year=2014 |title=Atman |editor-last=Leeming |editor-first=David A. |editor-link=David Adams Leeming |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion |pages=134–135 |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |location=[[Boston]] |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_54 |isbn=978-1-4614-6087-9}}</ref> Until then, they are usually ignorant of the ultimate reality and therefore believe that the material world around them is real and indulges in it, when the world is actually an illusion (''[[Maya (illusion)|Māyā]]'').<ref name="Halligan 2014"/> The ''Brahman'', which is absolute and pure, and the ''Ātman'', which is also absolute and pure, are the same in this [[Hindu philosophy|school of Hindu thought]], which exemplifies the Hindu concept of God.<ref name="Leeming 2014"/><ref name="Halligan 2014"/>

[[Islam]] is a system of thought that believes in the concept of the [[Tawhid|unity and uniqueness of God]] (''[[Tawhid|Tawḥīd]]''), which declares [[monotheism]], and is considered to be the defining doctrine of the Islamic religion.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2356 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam: "Tawhid" |date=6 May 2008 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |website=Oxfordislamicstudies.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624094916/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2356 |archive-date=24 June 2013 |access-date=25 April 2021}}</ref> God in Islam is conceived as the absolute one, the [[Omnipotence|all-powerful]] and [[Omniscience|all-knowing]] ruler of the [[universe]], and the creator of everything in existence.<ref name="EncyclopediaofIslam"/><ref name="EoQ-Böwering">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Böwering |author-first=Gerhard |author-link=Gerhard Böwering |year=2006 |title=God and his Attributes |editor-last=McAuliffe |editor-first=Jane Dammen |editor-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān]] |volume=II |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00075 |isbn=90-04-14743-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Esposito |first=John L. |author-link=John Esposito |year=2016 |orig-year=1988 |title=[[Islam: The Straight Path]] |edition=Updated 5th |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=22 |isbn=9780190632151 |s2cid=153364691}}</ref> According to Islam, God is transcendent and is not part of the universe (i.e. there is no incarnation of God, no "Son of God", etc.) but a power behind all aspects of the universe.<ref>David Leeming The Oxford Companion to World Mythology Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-195-15669-0 page 209</ref> Thus, Muslims do not attribute human forms to God. God is described and referred to by several [[Names of God in Islam|names or attributes]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Ali|first1=Kecia|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/123136939|title=Islam: the key concepts|last2=Leaman|first2=Oliver|date=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-39638-7|location=London; New York|language=English|oclc=123136939}}</ref> One of the [[five pillars of Islam]] is that Muslims affirm the ''[[Shahada]]'' in the [[Salah|five canonical daily prayers]], which declares that "[[God in Islam|There is no other god but Allah]], and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of Allah."<ref>N Mohammad sahab (1985), The doctrine of jihad: An introduction, Journal of Law and Religion, 3(2): 381–397</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Malise|last=Ruthven|title=Historical Atlas of Islam|date=January 2004|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-01385-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/historicalatlaso00mali/page/14 14]|url=https://archive.org/details/historicalatlaso00mali/page/14}}</ref>

Despite the obvious discrepancy between Islamic monotheism and Hindu polytheism, some Muslim authors showed approval of the Hindu religion, especially the due to the concept of Brahman. Sometimes, Brahmans were even excepted from the ''[[Jizya]]'' (taxes for non-Muslims).<ref name="Narain, Harsh 1990">Narain, Harsh. Jizyah and the Spread of Islam. Voice of India, 1990.</ref><ref name=firoz374383>[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924073036737#page/n389/mode/2up Futuhat-i Firoz Shahi] Autobiography of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, Translated y Elliot and Dawson, Volume 3 - The History of India, Cornell University, pp 374–83</ref> [[Gardizi]] identifies the God of the Brahmans with Allah.<ref name="Friedmann, Yohanan 1975">Friedmann, Yohanan. "Medieval Muslim views of Indian religions." Journal of the American Oriental Society (1975): 214-221.</ref>

[[Ibn al-Jawzi]] (1116 – 1201) criticizes in his ''Talbīs Iblīs'' (the deception of Satan) that the Brahmans are led astray by means of denying the prophets and their performance of self-harming rituals to get closer to God, but not by their lack of "monotheism".<ref>The Devil's Deception (Talbis Iblis) By Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi Dar as-Sunnah Publishers</ref>

[[Al-Biruni]] famously recorded the beliefs of Hindus in a descriptive manner. He notes that although the common people would worship [[Idolatry|idols]], the educated people would be "entirely free from worshipping anything but God alone and would never dream of worshipping an image manufactured to represent him." He does not blame idolatry on Hinduism, but to a lack of proper education. The difference between monotheistic religions and Hinduism would not be that strong, since all uneducated people, even among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, would need concrete objects to worship.<ref name="Friedmann, Yohanan 1975"/>

[[Amir Khusrau]] (1253 – 1325) writes that Hindus have gone astray, but so have other religions and Hinduism would still consist of beliefs shared by [[Criticism of Islam|Muslims]]: They would believe in the oneness and eternity of God as creator and sustainer. For that reason, he favors Hinduism before materialists (''[[Dahiya doctrine|dahriyya]]''), dualists (''[[thanawiyya]]''), [[Christianity and Islam|Christianity]] who attribute to God spirit and progeny, and the [[Paganism|star-worshippers]] (''akhtariyyan'') who acknowledge seven deities. The Hindu (precisely Brahmanist) would worship animals, stones, and the sun, but the Brahmanist accepts that they do not really bear likeness to God and are God's creation, they are only worshipped due to tradition.<ref name="Friedmann, Yohanan 1975"/>

Although there are a number of diverse conceptions of God and deities within Hinduism, most ''[[Faqīh|fuqaha]]'' (Muslim jurists), such as Muslim heresiographer [[al-Shahrastani]], consider all of them to be polytheistic and blasphemous. Opposition towards Brahmanism stems from the polytheistic teachings within Hindu-culture. The Brahmans would have taught to the people not that the idols are symbols of God, but deities themselves.<ref>Bahuguna, Rameshwar Prasad. "The Ideological–Political Role Of Brahmans In Later Medieval India." Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Vol. 72. Indian History Congress, 2011.</ref> Nonetheless, most scholars agree that Hindus should be considered ''[[dhimmi]]''.<ref name="Friedmann, Yohanan 1975"/>

==== Deities ====
Divine spirits in Hindu-lore were integrated into the monotheistic Islamic worldview by Muslim authors writing about Hinduism. They acknowledged that these spirits would exude a mesmerizing  fascination on people, even Muslims couldn't withstand. Arab Muslim geographer [[Al-Maqdisi|al-Maqdisī]] ({{Circa|945/946–991}} CE) wrote about [[Deva (Hinduism)|Indian deities]],  that they have the power to enchant people, even Muslims, to worship them. A Muslim is said to have visited them and [[Apostasy in Islam|abandoned Islam]]. Besides their power to distract even Muslims from worshiping Allah, they may have real magical powers and even grant their worshippers wishes.<ref>Elias, J. J. (2014). Key Themes for the Study of Islam. Vereinigtes Königreich: Oneworld Publications</ref>

In [[Abu al-Fadl Muhammad al Tabasi|al-Tabasi's]] (d. 1089) compendium about magic and sorcery ''Mahakal'', an epithet for the Hindu deity Shiva, is mentioned. Abu Sa'id al Gardizi (fl. 1049) further elaborates that this deva (''[[Div (mythology)|dīv]]'') would have the power to teach incantations ('aza'im) and how to perform wonders ('aja'ib).<ref>Zadeh, Travis. "Commanding demons and jinn: The sorcerer in early Islamic thought." No Tapping around Philology: A Festschrift in Honor of Wheeler McIntosh Thackston Jr.’s 70th Birthday (2014): 149.</ref>

To harmonize the existence of such spirits with the monotheistic worldview of Islam, it was assumed that the Indian deities were created by Allah, however, prior to the beings revealed in the Quran. [[Abu Ali Bal'ami]] (d. 992–997) asserts that the deva (''div'') were created long before the angels and jinn.<ref>Abedinifard, Mostafa; Azadibougar, Omid; Vafa, Amirhossein, eds. (2021). Persian Literature as World Literature. Literatures as World Literature. USA: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 40–43. ISBN 978-1501354205, ISBN 9781501354205</ref>{{rp|sytle=ama|page=40}} Unlike jinn, the div would have refused to obey the Prophet [[Solomon in Islam|Solomon]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Nasir, Mumtaz |year=1987 |title='Baiṭhak': Exorcism in Peshawar (Pakistan) |journal=Asian Folklore Studies |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=159–178, esp. 169 |doi=10.2307/1178582|jstor=1178582 }}</ref>

In the Nabivamsa, by [[Syed Sultan]], identifies the [[Deva (Hinduism)|suras]] and [[asura]] with [[jinn]] and [[al-Jann|jann]] respectively. The Hindu spirits are supposed to be created over 4 million years ago, while angels (''phiristā'') settle on earth afterwards. Since the different beings are constantly at war, [[Niranjan]] sents the Vedas to the Asuras and Devas, but eventually decides to command the angels to get rid of them. Afterwards, God creates the progenitor of humankind [[Adam in Islam|Adam]]. This story reflects early hadith material regarding the life of jinn before Adam was created. According to Islamic sources, God let the jinn live on earth and sent angels under the leadership of [[Azazil]] as authority over them. Later, God decides to replace them by humankind.<ref>Irani, Ayesha A. The Muhammad Avat= ara: Salvation History, Translation, and the Making of Bengali Islam. Oxford University Press, 2020.</ref>

===Scriptures and messengers===
The [[Islamic holy books|sacred scriptures of Islam]] are the ''[[Quran|Qurān]]'' and the ''[[Hadith|Ḥadīths]],'' which report what Muhammad said and did. ''[[Hadith|Ḥadīths]]'' are varied and have many versions. According to [[Jesus in Islam|Islamic doctrine]], [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus Christ]] was also [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|one of the messengers]] from God.<ref name="Neal Robinson 2013">Neal Robinson (2013), Islam: A Concise Introduction, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-87840-224-3}}, Chapter 7</ref> Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last messenger and the ''Qurān'' was the last revelation from God, delivered to him through the angel [[Jibril|Jibrīl]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Gülen | first=Fethullah | title=The Messenger of God Muhammad : an analysis of the Prophet's life | year=2005 | isbn=978-1-932099-83-6 | page=204}}</ref> The ''Ḥadīths'' contain the ''[[sunnah]]'', the reports of Muhammad's life, sayings, actions, and examples he set. The ''Qurān'' and the reliable ''Ḥadīths'' are considered in Islam as the sources of Islamic law or ''[[Sharia|Sharīʿah]]''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Gibb | first=H. A. R. | title=Mohammedanism : an historical survey | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=London New York | year=1970 | isbn=0-19-500245-8 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/mohammedanismhis0000gibb/page/67 67–68] | url=https://archive.org/details/mohammedanismhis0000gibb/page/67 }}</ref>

Unlike Islam, Hinduism doesn't have centralized religious authorities, or governing bodies. It has some defining historical and religious texts, the [[Hindu texts|sacred Hindu scriptures]], traditional ecclesiastical order, [[Avatar|incarnations]], and the legal code ''[[Manusmriti|Manusmṛti]]''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Doniger |first1=Wendy |last2=Stefon |first2=Matt |author1-link=Wendy Doniger |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |title=Manu-smriti (Hindu law) |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manu-smriti |date=4 February 2015 |origyear=20 July 1998 |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |location=[[Edinburgh]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321210843/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manu-smriti |archive-date=21 March 2016 |access-date=25 April 2021}}</ref><ref name=bl>{{cite book | last=Larson | first=Bob | title=Larson's book of world religions and alternative spirituality | publisher=Tyndale House Publishers |year=2004 | isbn=978-0-8423-6417-1 | page=228}}</ref> Spiritual knowledge of Hinduism is contained in texts called ''[[Śruti]]'' ("what is heard") and ''[[Smṛti]]'' ("what is remembered"). These sacred texts discuss diverse topics, including [[God in Hinduism|theology]], [[Hindu cosmology|cosmology]], [[Hindu mythology|mythology]], [[Hindu philosophy|philosophy]], [[Saṃskāra|rituals and rites of passage]], and many others. Major scriptures in Hinduism include the ''[[Vedas]]'' and ''[[Upanishads]]'' (both ''Śruti''), the [[Hindu Epic|Epics]] (''[[Ramayana|Rāmāyana]]'' and ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]''), ''[[Puranas|Purāṇas]]'', ''[[Dharmaśāstra]]s'', ''[[Āgama (Hinduism)|Āgamas]]'', and the ''[[Bhagavad Gita|Bhagavad Gītā]]'' (all ''Smṛti'').<ref>{{cite book | last =Michaels | first =Axel | author-link = Axel Michaels | year =2004 | title =Hinduism: Past and present | publisher =Princeton University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bhattacharyya | first=Ashim | title=Hindu Dharma : introduction to scriptures and theology | publisher=IUniverse | location=New York Lincoln | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-595-38455-6 | pages=8–14}}</ref>

According to Muslim scholars, Brahmans reject that God would send messengers. The Brahmans argue, if God wanted humans to understand his will, he would have created mankind accordingly. Thus, they assert, that human reason is sufficient to understand God's will.<ref name="10.1163_1573-3912_islam_SIM_1214 Barahima"/> Muslim scholars on the other hand assert, that prophecy is necessary for mankind in religious matters. Asharites argue that justification of morality relies on revelation. In contrast, Maturidites assert morality can be detected by reason, but mankind requires prophecy for supernatural matters.<ref>Oliver Leaman The Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy Bloomsbury Publishing 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-472-56945-5}} page 311</ref>

===Similarities===
{{See also | Hindu–Muslim unity | Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam | Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb | Unity in diversity | Religious syncretism | Hindutva}}

According to Islam, after death, one either enters [[Paradise]] ([[Jannah]]) or [[Hell]] ([[Jahannam]]), depending on their deeds. Unlike Muslims, Hindus believe in a cycle of [[reincarnation]].<ref name="Samsara">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271 |title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion |last1=Juergensmeyer |first1=Mark |last2=Roof |first2=Wade Clark |date=2011-10-18 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=9781452266565 |pages=271–272 |language=en}}</ref> However, the concept of higher and lower realms of [[Loka|existence]] can be found in Hinduism, though the realms are temporary places.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bchgql0em9YC&pg=PA124 |title=Shiv Purana |last=Chaturvedi |first=B. K. |date=2004 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. |isbn=9788171827213 |page=124 |language=en}}</ref>

Both Muslims and Hindus acknowledge [[demon]]s ([[Shaitan]]/[[Asura]]), who are constantly inciting war between the desires of humans and the Divine.{{clarify|date=May 2022}}<ref>Firoz-Ul Haque ''Islam Under the Microscope: A Condensed Digest for Muslims and Non-Muslims'' Atlantic Publishers & Dist 2006 {{ISBN|978-8-126-90700-7}} page 35</ref> Asuras are part of Hindu mythology along with [[Devata|Devas]], [[Yaksha]]s and [[Rakshasa]]s, and are featured in one of many cosmological theories in [[Hinduism]].<ref>Don Handelman (2013), One God, Two Goddesses, Three Studies of South Indian Cosmology, Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004256156}}, pages 23-29</ref><ref>Wendy Doniger (1988), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism, Manchester University Press, {{ISBN|978-0719018664}}, page 67</ref> Asuras are sometimes considered nature spirits. They constantly battle with the devas.<ref>Wash Edward Hale (1999), Ásura in Early Vedic Religion, Motilal Barnarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120800618}}, pages 2–6</ref>

Both believe in the existence of an entirety Supreme Power, either called [[Brahman]] or [[Allah]]. ''Brahman'' is a [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]] concept that is the single binding unity behind the diversity in all that exists in the universe.<ref name="james122">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism|last=Lochtefeld|first=James G.|publisher=[[The Rosen Publishing Group]]|year=2002|isbn=978-0823931798|volume=1|pages=122}}</ref>{{Sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=50–53}} ''Allah'' is the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word for [[God in Abrahamic religions]]. Assimilated in [[Folk Islam|local lore]], the Islamic concept of God became comparable to the notion of the ultimate reality expressing itself through different names as the creator, the maintainer, and the destroyer.<ref>Mohammed Yamin ''Impact of Islam on Orissan Culture'' Readworthy {{ISBN|978-9-350-18102-7}} page 56–57</ref> Some Islamic scholars believe that the worlds created by [[God in Islam|God]] will perish and be created anew, resembling the Hindu notion of an endless process of generation and decay.<ref>Jean Holm, John Bowker ''Sacred Place'' Bloomsbury Publishing 2001 {{ISBN|978-1-623-56623-4}} page 112</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Clinton Bennett, Charles M. Ramsey ''South Asian Sufis: Devotion, Deviation, and Destiny'' A&C Black {{ISBN|978-1-441-15127-8}} page 23</ref>

Pilgrimage is found in both religions: [[Hajj]] & [[Umrah]] to Mecca in Islam and [[Kumbh Mela]] and [[Yatra|Tirtha Yatra]] in Hinduism.<ref name=kb>{{cite book | last=Baksh | first=Kaiyume | title=Islam and other major world religions | publisher=Trafford | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-4251-1303-2 | pages=47–49}}</ref>
Muslims walk seven times around the [[Kaaba]] during Hajj, which is called [[Tawaf]].<ref>World Faiths, teach yourself – Islam by Ruqaiyyah Maqsood. {{ISBN|0-340-60901-X}} page 76</ref> Hindus walk one or more times around the center ([[Garbhagriha|Garbhagriya]]) of a temple (one to twenty-one),<ref>{{cite web|title=Pradkshna|url=http://iskcondesiretree.info/why-do-we-circumambulate-pradakshina-the-temple-and-deities/|publisher=ISCKON|access-date=13 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Why we do rounds|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/Why-we-circumambulate/articleshow/7594272.cms|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=13 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=Vinayak Bharne and Krupali Krusche | title=Rediscovering the Hindu temple : the sacred architecture and urbanism of India | publisher=Cambridge Scholars | location=Newcastle upon Tyne, UK | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4438-4137-5 | pages=101, 79–105}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=S.S. Subramuniyaswami | title=Loving Ganeśa: Hinduism's endearing elephant-faced God | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers | year=1998 | isbn=978-81-208-1506-3 | page=221}}</ref> called [[Parikrama]] (known in Sanskrit as ''pradakśiṇā''). Both of them are commonly called [[circumambulation]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/circum-|title = Circum-|access-date = 2014-03-07|website = Dictionary.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ambulate|title = Ambulate|access-date = 2014-03-07|website = Dictionary.com}}</ref>

According to some members of the [[Ahmadiya Muslim Community]] ([[Abdul Haq Vidyarthi]]), The Islamic prophet Muhammad is believed to be the [[Hindu]] [[Avatar]] [[Kalki]]. Some Muslim scholars and a few Hindu scholars like [[Ved Prakash Upaddhay]]<ref name=voice>{{cite web | url=http://www.islamicvoice.com/november.97/OURD.HTM | title=OUR DIALOGUE * Kaliki Avtar | publisher=Islamic Voice | date=November 1997 | access-date=21 February 2016 | archive-date=3 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703103431/http://www.islamicvoice.com/november.97/OURD.HTM | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Milli" >{{Cite web|url = http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2005/01-15Feb05-Print-Edition/011502200574.htm|title = Muhammad in Hindu scriptures|access-date = 2014-11-06|work = [[Milli Gazette]]}}</ref> also argue that mentions of Kalki refer to Muhammad in some Hindu scriptures.<ref name="Milli"/><ref>{{cite book | title = Oxford Handbook of Global Religions | first = Mark | last = Juergensmeyer | publisher =Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | year = 2006 | page = 520 | isbn = 978-0-19-513798-9| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lQMurMhRtfIC&q=mirza+ghulam+ahmad+and+kalki&pg=PA520
}}</ref> [[Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader)|Sri Sri Ravi Shankar]] claimed in his book "Hinduism and Islam: The Common Thread" that [[Muhammad]] is explicitly prophesied in [[Bhavishya Purana]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Hinduism & Islam: The Common Thread (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) (2002) [Kindle edition] |date=2002 |publisher=Santa Barbara, CA: Art of Living Foundation USA |page=20 |url=https://archive.org/details/hinduism-islam-common-thread |quote=The Prophet Mohammed and His Appearance in Vedic Literature  The Vedic text Bhavishya Purana (Parva 3, Khand 3, Adya 3, texts  5-6) predicts the appearance of Mohammed. Therein it states: "An  illiterate teacher will appear, Mohammed is his name, and he will give  religion to the people of the desert."}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=rasia |title=Holy books of Hindus predicted about Mohammed (pbuh): Sri Sri Ravi Shankar |url=https://archive.siasat.com/news/holy-books-hindus-predicted-mohammed-pbuh-sri-sri-ravi-shankar-1256845/ |access-date=13 September 2023 |work=The [[Siasat Daily]] – Archive |date=13 November 2017}}</ref>

====Sufism====
{{Main|Sufism#Similarities with Eastern religions}}
{{See also|Sufi-Salafi relations#Difference in beliefs and practices}}
The 10th-century Persian polymath [[Al-Biruni]] in his book ''[[Alberuni's India|Tahaqeeq Ma Lilhind Min Makulat Makulat Fi Aliaqbal Am Marzula]]'' (Critical Study of Indian Speech: Rationally Acceptable or Rejected) discusses the similarity of some Sufism concepts with aspects of Hinduism, such as: [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] with [[ruh]], tanasukh with [[reincarnation]], [[Moksha]] with [[Fana (Sufism)|Fanaa]], Ittihad with [[Nirvana]]: union between [[Paramatman]] in Jivatma, [[Avatar]] or Incarnation with Hulul, [[Vedanta]] with [[Wahdat al-Wujud]], [[Mujahadah]] with [[Sadhana]].{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

Other scholars have likewise compared the [[Sufism|Sufi]] concept of [[Sufi metaphysics|Waḥdat al-Wujūd]] with [[Advaita Vedanta]],<ref>Malika Mohammada ''The Foundations of the Composite Culture in India'' Aakar Books 2007 {{ISBN|978-8-189-83318-3}} page 141</ref> [[Fana (Sufism)|Fanaa]] to [[Samadhi]],<ref name="ReferenceA"/> [[Muraqaba]] to [[Dhyana in Buddhism|Dhyana]] and [[tariqa]] to the [[Noble Eightfold Path]].<ref name = "Tf">{{cite book |last1=Mohammada |first1=Malika |title=The Foundations of the Composite Culture in India |date=2007 |publisher=Aakar Books |isbn=978-81-89833-18-3 |page=90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwzbYvQszf4C&pg=PA90 |access-date=7 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

Sufi theologian [[Martin Lings]] says,
{{blockquote|Prince Dara Shikoh (d.1619), the Sufi son of the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan, was able to affirm that Sufism and Advaita Vedantism [Hinduism] are essentially the same, with a surface difference of terminology.<ref name="rim">{{cite web |title=Sufism |url=http://www.rim.org/muslim/sufism.htm |publisher=rim.org |access-date=29 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025045914/http://www.rim.org/muslim/sufism.htm |archive-date=25 October 2012}}</ref>}}

[[Al-Biruni]] observed in his history of India that the fundamental ideas behind metempsychosis or reincarnation in Hinduism are not very different from the concept of the immanence of God in all things and the idea of a universal soul in some Sufi doctrines, and that for Sufis who believe in such things, "the course of metempsychosis is of no consequence".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bīrūnī |first1=Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad |title=Alberuni's India: An Account of the Religion, Philosophy, Literature, Geography, Chronology, Astronomy, Customs, Laws and Astrology of India about A.D. 1030 |date=1910 |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner |pages= 50, 57, 58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRIAQAAMAAJ&q=editions:ISBN1108047203 |language=en |chapter=CHAPTER V.: ON THE STATE OF THE HOULS, AND THEIR MIGRATIONS THROUGH THE WORLD IN THE METEMPSYCHOSIS. |quote=As the word of confession, "There is no god but God, Muhammad is his prophet," is the shibboleth of Islam, the Trinity that of Christianity, and the institute of the Sabbath that of Judaism, so metempsychosis is the shibboleth of the Hindu religion. Therefore he who does not believe in it does not belong to them, and is not reckoned as one of them. ... Sufi doctrine: The same doctrine is professed by those Süfi who teach that this world is a sleeping soul and yonder world a soul awake, and who at the same time admit that God is immanent în certain places-eg. in heaven in the seat and the throne of God (mentioned in the Koran). But then there are others who admit that God is immanent in the whole world, in animals, trees, and the inanimate world, which they call his universal appearance. To those who hold this view, the entering of the souls into various beings in the course of metempsychosis is of no consequence.}}</ref>

The Sufi poet [[Jalaluddin Rumi]] wrote verse that played on such themes:
{{blockquote|I died as mineral and became a plant,

I died as plant and rose to animal. I died as animal and I was man.

Why should I fear?

When was I less by dying? Yet once more I shall die as man

To soar with angels blest;

But even from angelhood I must pass on..|Jaladuddin Rumi (Translation by Arberry, A.J. Classical Persian Literature. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1958.)}}

The 9th-century Iranian mystic [[Bayazid Bostami]] is alleged to have imported certain concepts from Hindusim into his version of Sufism under the conceptual umbrella of [[baqaa]], meaning perfection.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Siddiqui | first1 = Ataullah | last2 = Waugh |  first2 = Earle H. | title = American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 16: 3 | publisher = International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) | page = 12 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vnY5DwAAQBAJ&dq=baqa+nirvana&pg=PA12 | access-date = 27 December 2021 | language = en}}</ref> [[Ibn Arabi|Ibn al-Arabi]] and [[Mansur al-Hallaj]] both referred to Muhammad as having attained perfection and titled him as ''[[Al-Insān al-Kāmil]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Laliwala |first1=J. I. |title=Islamic Philosophy of Religion: Synthesis of Science Religion and Philosophy |date=2005 |publisher=Sarup & Sons |isbn=978-81-7625-476-2 |page=81 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2Wz4HEoOgYC&dq=insan+i+kamil+baqa&pg=PA81 |access-date=7 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Chamankhah |first1=Leila |title=The Conceptualization of Guardianship in Iranian Intellectual History (1800–1989): Reading Ibn ʿArabī's Theory of Wilāya in the Shīʿa World |date=3 September 2019 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-22692-3 |page=253 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GGtDwAAQBAJ&dq=insan+i+kamil+baqa&pg=PA253 |access-date=7 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Madzillah-ul-Aqdus |first1=Sultan ul Ashiqeen Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Mohammad Najib-ur-Rehman |title=Sultan-Bahoo-The Life and Teachings |date=11 March 2015 |publisher=Sultan ul Faqr Publications |isbn=978-969-9795-18-3 |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlyMAwAAQBAJ&dq=insan+i+kamil+baqa&pg=PA299 |access-date=7 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bahoo |first1=Sultan ul Arifeen Hazrat Sakhi Sultan |title=Risala Roohi Sharif (The Divine Soul): English Translation and Exegesis with Persian Text |date=2015 |publisher=Sultan ul Faqr Publications |isbn=978-969-9795-28-2 |page=58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeZGCwAAQBAJ&dq=insan+i+kamil+baqa+muhammad&pg=PA58 |access-date=7 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=Clinton |title=In Search of Muhammad |date=1 January 1998 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-304-70401-9 |page=223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ADytAwAAQBAJ&dq=insan+i+kamil+baqa+muhammad&pg=PA190 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=Clinton |title=In Search of Muhammad |date=1 January 1998 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-304-70401-9 |page=190 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ADytAwAAQBAJ&dq=insan+i+kamil+baqa+muhammad&pg=PA190 |access-date=7 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The Sufism concept of ''hulul'' has similarly been compared with the idea of [[Ishvaratva]], that God dwells in some creatures in [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]], and [[godhood]] of [[Jesus]] in [[Christianity]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicholls |first1=Ruth J. |last2=Riddell |first2=Peter G. |title=Insights into Sufism: Voices from the Heart |date=31 July 2020 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-5275-5748-2 |page=181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdz0DwAAQBAJ&dq=avatar+sufism&pg=PA181 |access-date=7 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Ziaur Rahman Azmi]], a follower [[Salafism|Salafi movement]], says that the reason behind Hindus' negative perception of Islam is mostly the spread of [[Sufism in India]], as he believes Sufism "distorts" the Islamic ideas of [[prophets in Islam|prophethood]] and [[Tawheed|Monotheism]]. He claims Sufism includes idolatry, pointing to Sufi mausoleums and the practices of [[Tawaf]] and [[Sajdah]] that occur at them.<ref name="A">{{cite book |last1=Ajmi |first1=Ziaur Rahman |title=হিন্দু, বৌদ্ধ, জৈন, শিখ ধর্মের ইতিহাস (History of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism) |last2=Kasemi |first2=Mahiuddin |date=5 June 2021 |publisher=Kalantar Prokashoni |isbn=978-984-95932-8-7 |pages=20, 21–30, 36–39, 101–102, 105–106, 173–174 |language=Bengali}}</ref>

===Differences===
====Foods====
Islam has restrictions on food, such as how meat is prepared.<ref name="forbidden_food_1">Qurʾan 2:173</ref> [[Halal]] meat is prepared by ritual [[Animal slaughter|slaughter]] that involves cutting the [[jugular]] veins of an animal with a sharp knife. This leads to death via bleeding.<ref>{{cite book | last=Riaz | first=Mian | title=Halal food production | publisher=CRC Press | year=2004 | isbn=978-1-58716-029-5}}</ref> Meat from animals that die of natural causes or by accident is not allowed.

In Hinduism, food habits are left as a choice for Hindus, and both meat and alcohol consumption is accepted. However, some Hindu communities prefer [[vegetarianism]] or [[Lacto vegetarianism|lacto-vegetarianism]] due to their belief in [[ahimsa]] or non-violence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vegetarianism in Hinduism {{!}} alimentarium |url=https://www.alimentarium.org/en/knowledge/vegetarianism-hinduism |access-date=2022-04-04 |website=www.alimentarium.org |language=en}}</ref> There are varied opinions regarding the permissibility of [[Diet in Hinduism|eating meat in Hinduism]], depending upon the interpretation of the Hindu scriptures. Some Hindu sects emphasize vegetarianism. Some Hindus avoid eating cow-based beef, but they may eat water buffalo-based beef or pork as an alternative.<ref name=cj2007>{{cite book | last=Jones | first=Constance | title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism | location=New York | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-8160-5458-9 | page=283}}</ref>

[[Cattle slaughter in India|Slaughtering a cow]] is considered to be a religious taboo by Hindus, who consider [[Cattle in religion and mythology|the cow to be a sacred animal]].

====Circumcision====
[[Khitan (circumcision)|Khitan]], the religious rite of [[circumcision]], is considered obligatory or recommendable for male Muslims.<ref name="khitān">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2014 |title=Khitān |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/khitan-Islam |access-date=27 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127165754/https://www.britannica.com/topic/khitan-Islam |archive-date=27 January 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Qur'an does not mention circumcision explicitly in any verse, but it is noted in the Hadiths of Islam. Circumcision is not compulsory in Islam, but is an important ritual aimed at improving cleanliness. It is strongly encouraged but not enforced.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Islam: Circumcision of boys |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/malecircumcision.shtml |access-date=2022-03-10 |publisher=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Circumcision is not a religious requirement in Hinduism. Hinduism discourages non-medical [[circumcision]], as, according to them, the body is made by the [[Parabrahma|almighty God]], and nobody has the right to alter it.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Clarence-Smith|first1=William G.|title=Islam and Female Genital Cutting in Southeast Asia: The Weight of the Past|journal=Finnish Journal of Ethnicity and Migration|volume=3|issue=2|date=2008|url=http://www.etmu.fi/fjem/pdf/FJEM_2_2008.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306050235/http://www.etmu.fi/fjem/pdf/FJEM_2_2008.pdf|archive-date=2009-03-06|pages=14–22}}</ref>

====Caste and creed====
{{Main|Caste system in India|Caste system among South Asian Muslims}}
Hindu cultural (non-religious) texts such as the [[Manusmriti]] classify people through stratification and class, i.e. [[Brahmins]], [[Kshatriyas]], [[Vaishyas]], [[Shudras]] and allows fluidity and movement of people from one caste to another depending on their profession and what they choose as their “dharma” which literally translates to duty or purpose.<ref name=berreman/> The Hindu caste system has been described as four [[Varna (Hinduism)|Varna]]s or as thousands of [[endogamous]] hereditary groups called [[jāti]]s.<ref name=berreman>{{cite journal |title=Race, Caste, and Other Invidious Distinctions in Social Stratification |journal=Race |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=385–414 |first=Gerald D. |last=Berreman |year=1972 |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |doi=10.1177/030639687201300401 |s2cid=37931747 |url=http://reserves.fcla.edu/rsv/NC/010015586-1.pdf |access-date=13 May 2015 |archive-date=17 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117221644/http://reserves.fcla.edu/rsv/NC/010015586-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="one">{{Cite book| last = Aggarwal | first = Patrap | title = Caste and Social Stratification Among Muslims in India | publisher = Manohar |year= 1978 }}</ref><ref name="Ambedkar">{{Cite book| last = Ambedkar  | first = Bhimrao  | author-link = B.R. Ambedkar  | title = Pakistan or the Partition of India  | publisher =  Thackers Publishers|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_partition/410.html}}</ref><ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/story/12109.html Dereserve these myths] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516075059/http://www.indianexpress.com/story/12109.html |date=16 May 2008 }} by Tanweer Fazal,''Indian express''</ref><ref name="barth">{{cite book |last=Barth |first=Fredrik |editor-first=E. R. |editor-last=Leach |title=Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon, and North-West Pakistan |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1962 |isbn=978-0-521-09664-5}}</ref>

Islam requires [[egalitarianism]] and is against discrimination based on caste, creed or [[Race (human categorization)|race]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 4, 2019|title=Racism, Casteism and Islam|url=https://www.nation.com.pk/04-Jan-2019/racism-casteism-and-islam|website=The Nation|access-date=April 25, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Adetunji|first=Jo|date=July 6, 2020|title=Islam's anti-racist message from the 7th century still resonates today|url=https://theconversation.com/islams-anti-racist-message-from-the-7th-century-still-resonates-today-141575|website=The Conversation|access-date=April 25, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Translation |url=http://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=49&verse=13 |website=corpus.quran.com |access-date=30 December 2019}}</ref> Islamic texts do not segregate Muslims. [[Hadith|Hadīth]], however, mentions the prophecy of the Muslim [[Ummah]] being separated into 73 sects based on practices of Islam, not class. However there remain huge discrimination between [[Shia]] and [[ Sunni ]] . Also [[ Ahmaddiya]] has been persecuted severely. There are differences in practices within Muslim communities as traditions differ according to geography, but spiritually all Muslims are equal.<ref>{{cite book | last=Glenn | first=H | title=Legal traditions of the world: sustainable diversity in law | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2014 | isbn=978-0-19-966983-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Emon | first=Anver | title=Religious pluralism and Islamic law : Dhimmis and Others in the Empire of Law| publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-19-966163-3 | pages=234–236}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Saleh | first=Fauzan | title=Modern trends in Islamic theological discourse in 20th century Indonesia: A Critical Survey | publisher=Leiden;Boston;Köln : Brill | year=2001 | isbn=978-90-04-12305-2}}</ref>

====Consanguineous marriage====
[[Consanguine marriage|Consanguineous marriages]] are those where the bride and groom share a grandparent or near ancestor.<ref>Joseph, S. E. (2007), Kissing Cousins, Current Anthropology, 48(5), pages 756–764</ref> Islam prohibits marriage due to consanguinity with ancestors, descendants, siblings, siblings of ancestors and descendants of siblings.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ghamidi|first=Javed Ahmad|title=Mizan: A Comprehensive Introduction to Islam|publisher=Al-Mawrid|location=Lahore|author-link=Javed Ahmad Ghamidi|language=en}}</ref> However, marriage with first-cousins (3rd degree consanguinity) and farther removed consanguineous relatives is allowed. Hinduism forbids consanguineous marriage of [[parallel cousins]], and strongly recommends seven degrees of biological separation between bride and groom.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bittles | first=A. H. | title=Consanguinity in context | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-521-78186-2}}</ref> However, for many communities in [[South India]], especially in [[Karnataka]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Telangana]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]], it is common for Hindu [[Parallel and cross cousins|cross cousins]] to marry, with [[matrilateral]] cross cousin (mother's brother's daughter) marriages being especially favored. In the region, "[[Avunculate marriage|uncle-niece]] and first-cousin unions are preferential and jointly account for some 30% of marriages." These practices are particularly followed in landed communities such as the [[Vellalar]]s, who wish to keep wealth within the family. Also, unlike North India, this practice is also common in Brahmins in the region. Arranged endogamous consanguineous marriages are common in Pakistan for economic, religious and cultural reasons.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Zahid|first1=Muhammad|last2=Bittles|first2=Alan H.|last3=Sthanadar|first3=Aftab Alam|date=September 2014|journal=Journal of Biosocial Science|volume=46|issue=5|pages=698–701|doi=10.1017/S0021932013000552|issn=1469-7599|title=Civil Unrest and the Current Profile of Consanguineous Marriage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan|s2cid=72915638|url=http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/23289/}}</ref>

====Jizya====
Islamic scriptures compel the payment of a special tax called ''[[Jizya]]'' from ''[[dhimmi]]'', who are not liable to pay [[Zakat|Zaka'at]], the non-Muslims who live in a Muslim state.<ref>John Louis Esposito, Islam the Straight Path, Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 33–34</ref><ref name=ame1>Anver M. Emon, Religious Pluralism and Islamic Law: Dhimmis and Others in the Empire of Law, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-966163-3}}, pp. 99–109</ref> Historically, the ''jizya'' tax has been understood in Islam as a fee for protection provided by the Muslim ruler to non-Muslims, for the exemption from military service for non-Muslims, for the permission to practice a non-Muslim faith with communal autonomy in a Muslim state.<ref>Anver M. Emon (26 July 2012). "Religious Pluralism and Islamic Law: Dhimmis and Others in the Empire of Law." Oxford University Press. pp. 99–109. ISBN 978-0199661633.</ref><ref name="ArnoldPoI3">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/preachingofislam00arno|title=Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith|last=Walker Arnold|first=Thomas|date=1913|publisher=[[Constable & Robinson|Constable & Robinson Ltd]]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/preachingofislam00arno/page/60 60]–1|quote=This tax was not imposed on the Christians, as some would have us think, as a penalty for their refusal to accept the Muslim faith, but was paid by them in common with the other <u>dh</u>immīs or non-Muslim subjects of the state whose religion precluded them from serving in the army, in return for the protection secured for them by the arms of the Musalmans.|author-link=Thomas Walker Arnold}} ([https://archive.org/stream/preachingofislam00arno#page/60/mode/2up online]) '''Non-Muslims Paying Jizyah In a State of Humiliation''' by Bassam Zawadi https://www.call-to-monotheism.com/non_muslims_paying_jizyah_in_a_state_of_humiliation</ref>{{sfn|Esposito|2016|p=34|ps=. "They replaced the conquered countries, indigenous rulers and armies, but preserved much of their government, bureaucracy, and culture. For many in the conquered territories, it was no more than an exchange of masters, one that brought peace to peoples demoralized and disaffected by the casualties and heavy taxation that resulted from the years of Byzantine-Persian warfare. Local communities were free to continue to follow their own way of life in internal, domestic affairs. In many ways, local populations found Muslim rule more flexible and tolerant than that of Byzantium and Persia. Religious communities were free to practice their faith to worship and be governed by their religious leaders and laws in such areas as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. In exchange, they were required to pay tribute, a poll tax (''jizya'') that entitled them to Muslim protection from outside aggression and exempted them from military service. Thus, they were called the "protected ones" (''dhimmi''). In effect, this often meant lower taxes, greater local autonomy, rule by fellow Semites with closer linguistic and cultural ties than the hellenized, Greco-Roman élites of Byzantium, and greater religious freedom for Jews and indigenous Christians."}} If anyone could not afford this tax, they would not have to pay anything.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The jizya Verse (Q. 9:29): Tax Enforcement on Non-Muslims in the First Muslim State|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/jqs.2012.0056|journal=Journal of Qur'anic Studies|year=2012 |doi=10.3366/jqs.2012.0056 |access-date=May 6, 2023 |last1=Abdel Haleem |first1=M.A.S. |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=72–89 }}</ref> There is no ''jizya'' tax upon women, children, elders as well as the poor and the ill.<ref>[[Al-Qadi Abu Ya'la|al-Qāḍī Abū Yaʿlā]], ''al-Aḥkām al-Sulṭāniyyah'', p. 160. Quote: «وتسقط الجزية عن الفقير وعن الشيخ وعن الزَمِن [أي صاحب العاهة]» Translation: "There is no jizya upon the poor, the old, and the chronically ill."</ref> Also those who joined the military service were also not liable to pay the tax.<ref name="Mapel, Nardin">Mapel, D.R. and Nardin, T., eds. (1999), ''International Society: Diverse Ethical Perspectives'', p. 231. [[Princeton University Press]]. {{ISBN|9780691049724}}. Quote: "''Jizya'' was levied upon ''dhimmis'' in compensation for their exemption from military service in the Muslim forces. If ''dhimmis'' joined Muslims in their mutual defense against an outside aggressor, the ''jizya'' was not levied."</ref>

[[Islamic]] stipulation that Muslims must "do battle to guard" the ''dhimmis'' and "put no burden on them greater than they can bear" remained a cornerstone of Islamic policy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=R. Cohen|first=Mark|date=1994|title=Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1f886q5|website=Jstor|publisher=Princeton University Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctv1f886q5 |jstor=j.ctv1f886q5 |isbn=9780691139319 |s2cid=242433110 |access-date=May 6, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Abu-Munshar|first=Maher Y.|date=15 September 2007|title=Islamic Jerusalem and Its Christians|url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/islamic-jerusalem-and-its-christians-9781780764795/|website=Bloomsbury Publishing|access-date=May 6, 2023}}Tauris Academic Studies. ISBN 9781845113537.</ref>

There is no such concept of "Jizya" in Hindu texts.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

====Slavery====
Muslim and Hindus societies have practiced slavery many times in history

The practice of slavery in early and late [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic era]] of Hinduism is documented. However, some Hindu texts use the term [[dasa]]. Some scholars translate this as slave,<ref name="dasa1" /> while other scholars have translated it as servant and religious devotee.<ref>A Sharma (September 2005), Journal American Acad Religion, 73(3): 843–870</ref><ref>Kangle R.P. (1960), The Kautiliya Arthasastra – a critical edition, Part 3, University of Bombay Studies, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0042-7}}, p. 186</ref> Arthashastra text of Hinduism dedicates a chapter to ''dasa'' where a financially bankrupt individual may become a servant of another. Arthashastra grants a ''dasa'' legal rights, and declares abusing, hurting and raping a ''dasa'' as a crime.<ref name="dasa1">Shamasastry, [https://archive.org/stream/Arthasastra_English_Translation/Arthashastra_of_Chanakya_-_English#page/n259/mode/2up Arthashastra of Chanakya], pp. 260–264</ref><ref>B. Breloer (1934), Kautiliya Studien, Bd. III, Leipzig, pages 10–16, 30–71</ref>

Islam's approach to slavery added the idea that freedom was the natural state of affairs for human beings and in line with this it limited the opportunities to enslave people, commended the freeing of slaves and regulated the way slaves were treated:

* Islam greatly limited those who could be enslaved and under what circumstances (although these restrictions were often evaded)
* Islam treated slaves as human beings as well as property
* Islam banned the mistreatment of slaves – indeed the tradition repeatedly stresses the importance of treating slaves with kindness and compassion
* Islam allowed slaves to achieve their freedom and made freeing slaves a virtuous act
* Islam barred Muslims from enslaving other Muslims

The Quran and the Hadiths strongly discourage the institution of slaves.<ref>
{{cite book | last=Lewis | first=Bernard | title=What went wrong?: Western impact and Middle Eastern response | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=Oxford New York | year=2002 | isbn=0-19-514420-1 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/whatwentwrongwes00lewi/page/82 82–83] | url=https://archive.org/details/whatwentwrongwes00lewi/page/82 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml#h2|title=BBC – Religions – Islam: Slavery in Islam|publisher=BBC|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-01-16}}</ref> Islam, in many cases, encouraged [[Manumission|freeing of slave]] act of benevolence, and expiation of sins. Islam only allows slavery through certain means and many Islamic scholars claim Islam blocked many ways through which people used to own slaves.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ali | first=Kecia | title=Marriage and slavery in early Islam | url=https://archive.org/details/marriageslaverye00alik | url-access=limited | publisher=Harvard University Press | location=Cambridge, Mass | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-674-05059-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/marriageslaverye00alik/page/n171 161]–171}}</ref><ref>Abbott, N. (1942). "Women and the state in early Islam". Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1(3), pp. 341–368</ref> Most interpretations of the Quran agree that the Quran envisions an ideal society as one in which slavery no longer exists.<ref>({{qref|2|177|b=y}}, {{qref|24|33}}, {{qref|90|13}})</ref><ref name=liberation>{{cite book|author=[[Bernard Lewis]]|title=[[Race and Slavery in the Middle East]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|page=6|quote=[The Quran] recommends, without requiring, his liberation by purchase or manumission. The freeing of slaves is recommended both for the expiation of sins (IV:92; V:92; LVIII:3) and as an act of simple benevolence (11: 177; XXIV:33; XC:13).}}</ref><ref>({{qref|4|92|b=y}}, {{qref|5|92}}, {{qref|58|3}})</ref><ref name=iniquity>{{cite book|title=Islam: History, Religion, and Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CS6wCgAAQBAJ&q=quran+free+slaves&pg=PA18|author=[[Tamara Sonn]]|date = 6 October 2015|page=18| publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn = 9781118972311|quote=The Quran clearly recognizes that slavery is a source of inequity in society becaise it frequently recommends freeing slaves, along with feeding and clothing the poor as part of living a moral life (90:12-19)...the Quran does not abolish the institution of slavery...slavery was an integral part of the economic system at the time the Quran was revealed; abolition of slavery would have requires an overhaul of the entire socioeconomic system. Therefore, instead of abolishing slavery outright, virtually all interpreters agree that the Quran established an ideal toward which society should: a society in which no one person would be enslaved to another.}}</ref>

====Blasphemy====
{{Main|Islam and blasphemy}}
Blasphemy against God and against Muhammad is a religious crime in Islam.<ref name=cf2014>{{cite book | last=Fitzpatrick | first=Coeli | title=Muhammad in history, thought, and culture : an encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (Chapter: ''Blasphemy against the Prophet'') | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-61069-177-2 | pages=59–67}}</ref> The Quran in verse and many Hadiths discuss blasphemy and its punishment.<ref name=cf2014/> A variety of actions, speeches, or behavior can constitute blasphemy in Islam.<ref name=dl1993/> Some examples include insulting or cursing Allah or the Prophets or drawing offensive cartoons, tearing or burning holy literature of Islam, and creating or using music, painting, video, or novels to mock or criticize prophet Muhammad are some examples of blasphemous acts. Punishment can range from imprisonment or flogging to execution.<ref name="dl1993">{{cite book | last=Lawton | first=David | title=Blasphemy | url=https://archive.org/details/blasphemy0000lawt_w1s1 | url-access=registration | publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press | location=Philadelphia | year=1993 | isbn=978-0-8122-1503-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Marshall | first=Paul | title=Silenced : how apostasy and blasphemy codes are choking freedom worldwide | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-19-981228-8}}</ref>

Although the concept of "divine blasphemy" or "heresy" does not exist in Hinduism, and ancient Hindu texts make no provisions for blasphemy.<ref>{{cite book | last=Chitkara | first=Madan | title=Buddha's: myths & legends | publisher=APH Publ.| year=2002 | isbn=978-81-7648-189-2 |pages=227–228}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Naidoo | first=Thillayvel | title=Long walk to enlightenment | location=Pittsburgh, PA | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-4349-9808-8 | pages=141–142}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Pullat | first=Sury | title=Destined Encounters | publisher=Partridge Pub | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4828-3639-4 | page=209}}</ref> According to 2018 annual report of [[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom|U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom]], there has been [[Hindutva|Hindu nationalist]] groups through their campaign to "[[Saffronisation|Saffronize]]" India through violence, intimidation, and harassment against non-Hindus and according to the data, approximately one-third of state governments enforced anti-conversion and/or anti-cow slaughter laws against non-Hindus.<ref name=":02">{{cite report |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/USCIRF2018AnnualReport_abb_wlinks.pdf |title=Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom |date=April 2018 |publisher=[[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom|U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom]] |page=37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=States Where Cow Slaughter is Banned So Far, and States Where it Isn't |date=26 May 2017 |url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/states-where-cow-slaughter-is-banned-so-far-and-states-where-it-isnt-1413425.html}}</ref>

====Apostasy====
{{Main|Apostasy in Islam}}
[[Apostasy]], defined in Islam as the conscious act by a Muslim of leaving Islam or [[Blasphemy|blaspheming]] against it, is a religious crime according to some [[Fiqh|Islamic schools of law]].<ref>
{{citation |author1=Marie-Luisa Frick  |author2=Andreas Th. Müller |title=Islam and International Law: Engaging Self-Centrism from a Plurality of Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOGlx2dJvZYC |year=2013 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-90-04-23336-2 |page=95}}
</ref><ref>
{{citation |first1=Kecia |last1=Ali |first2=Oliver |last2=Leaman |title=Islam: The Key Concepts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5-CdzqmuXsC |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-39638-7 |pages=10–11}}
</ref><ref name=jea>
{{citation |first=John |last=Esposito |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6VeCWQfVNjkC |year=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-512559-7 |page=22}}
</ref>

Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in a declaration of faith or a [[creed]]" and is thus more tolerant to apostasy.<ref name="Lipner 2010"/><ref name="MK Gandhi"/> Some Hindu sects believe that ethical conversion, without force or reward, is completely acceptable.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Himalayan Academy Publications – How to Become a Hindu|url=https://www.himalayanacademy.com/view/how-to-become-a-hindu|access-date=2021-09-04|website=himalayanacademy.com}}</ref> However, the [[Vashistha Dharmasutra|Vashistha Dharmasastra]], the [[Apastamba Dharmasutra]], and [[Yajnavalkya]] state that a son of an apostate is also considered an apostate.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Banerji|first=Sures Chandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAZ0CAt03_QC&pg=PA196|title=A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra|date=1999|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-370-0|language=en}}</ref> Smr̥ticandrikā lists apostates as a group of people upon touching whom, one should take a bath.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Banerji|first=Sures Chandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAZ0CAt03_QC&pg=PA185|title=A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra|date=1999|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-370-0|language=en}}</ref> [[Nāradasmṛti]] and Parasara-samhita state that a wife can remarry if her husband becomes an apostate.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Banerji|first=Sures Chandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAZ0CAt03_QC&dq=stripumsa+prakarana&pg=PA82|title=A Brief History of Dharmaśāstra|date=1999|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-370-0|language=en}}</ref> The Saint [[Parashara]] commented that religious rites are disturbed if an apostate witnesses them.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kirk|first=James A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aUwqAAAAYAAJ&q=parashara+apostate|title=Stories of the Hindus: An Introduction Through Texts and Interpretation|date=1972|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-02-563230-1|language=en}}</ref> He also comments that those who forgo the [[Rig Veda]], [[Samaveda]], and [[Yajurveda]] are "nagna" (naked) or an apostate.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rao|first=T. A. Gopinatha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJD-KresBwIC&dq=nagna+apostate&pg=PA217|title=Elements of Hindu Iconography|date=1985|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|isbn=978-81-208-0878-2|language=en}}</ref>

Both religions state that there should be no compulsion in religion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir|url=http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138|website=qtafsir.com|access-date=20 August 2016}}</ref><ref>[[Jacques Berque]] (1995), ''Le Coran : Essai de traduction'', p.63, note v.256, éditions Albin Michel, Paris.</ref>

==Notable views==
===By Muslims===
[[File:Alberunis India.jpg|300px|thumb|right|The cover of the 1910 english translated edition of [[Alberuni's India|Kitab al-Hind]], which was originally the first detailed Muslim work on [[Indology]] and [[Hinduism]].]]
Among classical Muslim works on [[Indology]], [[Alberuni]] in his book [[Alberuni's India|Kitab al-Hind]] ({{lang-ar|تحقيق ما للهند من مقولة مقبولة في العقل أو مرذولة}}, {{transliteration|ar| Taḥqīq mā li-l-hind min maqūla maqbūla fī l-ʿaql aw mardhūla}}, meaning: A Critical Study of Indian Doctrines, Whether Rationally Acceptable or Not), first gave the detailed description about Indian religious histories and beliefs along with the relation of [[Sufism]] with it. [[Al-Masudi]] also wrote about [[Indology]] and the root creeds and customs of [[Hinduism]] in his book [[The Meadows of Gold|Murūj aḏ-Ḏahab wa-Maʿādin al-Jawhar]]. [[Ibn Khaldun]] also dicussed on Indology in his two books [[Muqaddimah]] and [[Kitab al-ibar]] as well as [[Ibn al-Athir]] in his book [[The Complete History|Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh]].

[[Abu Bakar Muhammad Zakaria]] in his book "Hindusiat wa Tasur" said that, ancient [[Dravid]]ian Indians were the decendant of [[Ham]], one of the [[sons of Noah]], and the [[Aryan]]s were the decendants of [[Japheth]], another of the three remained sons of [[Noah]] after [[Genesis flood narrative|Biblical great flood]],
{{quote|This is what historians have mentioned regarding the origin of the people of India, although the truth of the matter is that all are from [[Adam]], and Adam is from dust, and God has destroyed the children of Adam except for [[sons of Noah|Noah's children]]. The Almighty said: In it, the [[sons of Noah]] who remained after the Flood were three: [[Ham]] - [[Shem]] - [[Japheth]], and the sons of Noah spread all over the world ([[as-Saaffat]]  37:75-82, [[Al-Bidaya wa l-Nihaya|Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya]], [[Ibn Kathir]], [https://ar.m.wikisource.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9_%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%A1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84/%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%A9_%D9%86%D9%88%D8%AD_%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%87_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85 1/111-114]), and the lands at that time were close, and the seas were far apart, and it is said that [[Sindh]] and [[Al-Hind]] are the sons of Tawqeer (Bouqir) (Nawfer) bin Yaqtan bin Aber bin Shalekh bin Arfakhshad bin Sam bin Noah. It was said: One of the sons of Ham, [[Al-Masudi]] says: (Nuvir bin Lot bin Ham walked his son and those who followed him to the land of Hind and Sindh), and [[Ibn al-Athir]] ([[The Complete History|Al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh]]) says: (As for [[Ham]], [[Cush (Bible)|Kush]], [[Misraim]], [[Phut]], and [[Canaan]] were born... It was said: He traveled to Al-Hind (India) and Sindh and lodged it and its people from his sons and [[Ibn Khaldun]] says: As for Ham, from his sons are the [[Sudan]], Hind (India), Sindh, the [[Copt]]s (Kibt), and Canaan by agreement... As for Kush bin Ham, five of his sons are mentioned in the Torah, and they are sufun, [[Saba]], and Juila and [[Rama]] and Safakha and from the sons of Rama Shao, who are the Sindh, and Dadan, who are Hind or India, and in it that [[Nimrod]] is from the birth of Kush,..... and that Al-Hind (India), Sindh and Habasha ([[Abyssinia]]) are from the children of the [[Sudan]] from the birth of [[Kush]]. From the foregoing it appears to me: that India entered it at that time from all the races of decendants of Noah, and among the most prominent of them were the sons of [[Shem]] bin Noah, peace be upon him, but the sincere [[Dravid]]s and those who are likely to be the sons of [[Ham]] entered it in abundance. As for the entry of the sons of [[Japheth]], it was little, and they are the ones who were known as the [[Turanian]]s, and by joining the ancient Dravid society and as a result of breeding with them, the born Dravids came as previously explained.<ref name="AHWT"/>}}

[[Ziaur Rahman Azmi]] in his book "Fusulun fi Adianil Hindi, al-Hindusiatu, Wal Buziatu, Wal Zainiatu, Was Sikhiatu and Alakatut Tasawwfi Biha" (Surveys of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism as well as Indian Religions and their relationship with Sufism  Relation') said that, [[Hamite]] [[Kol people|Kol]] race came from [[Southeast Asia]], lived in Mohenjodaro in India in the third century BC, the [[Turanian]]s came and defeated them and mixed with them, the [[Dravid]] race arose, who [[Mohenjodaro]] in Sindh.  They settled in the [[Harappan]] city and then spread into South India, and they divided into four groups according to their language, Kannada, Malayam, Tamil and Telugu.<ref name="AHWT">{{cite book |title=الهندوسية وتأثر بعض الفرق الاسلامية بها |date=2016|last1=Zakaria|first1=abu Bakar Muhammad|author-link1=Abubakar Muhammad Zakaria |publisher=Dār al-Awrāq al-Thaqāfīyah |isbn=978-603-90755-6-1 |pages=17, 63, 95-96, 102, 156, 188-189, 554-558, 698-99, 825, 990-991, 1067-1068, 1071, 1159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLGztAEACAAJ&q=%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9+%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%A3%D8%AB%D8%B1+%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%B6+%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%82+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9+%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7 |access-date=28 July 2023  |language=ar}}</ref> 
During this time they continued to clash with the [[Aryans]] from the east of the Indus for several centuries, and the name Hindu was given by the Greeks and Iranians to this Indus (Sindh) word. The inhabitants accepted their allegiance and then the Aryans began to mold the social system and the inhabitants of India entered the [[Vedic]] society.  Azmi cites archaeological similarities as well as linguistic similarities between Sanskrit and Persian, suggesting that the Aryans were of European [[Persian]] origin, and he cites linguistics to suggest that the Sanskrit-speaking Aryans and the Persian-speaking were inhabitants of the same territory, and that they came from Persia.<ref name="AHWT"/> At one point when the Aryans won, the local inhabitants including the Dravidians accepted their allegiance, then the Aryans began to shape the social system and the inhabitants of India entered the [[Vedic]] society. Azmi cites archaeological similarities as well as linguistic similarities between Sanskrit and Persian, suggesting that the Aryans were of European [[Persian]] origin, and he cites linguistics to suggest that the Sanskrit-speaking Aryans and the Persian-speaking were inhabitants of the same territory, and that they came from Persia.<ref name="AHWT"/>The Aryans then divided the natives of India into [[Varna (Hinduism)|four classes]] ([[Caste system in India|caste system]]) in order of status, these being [[Brahmins]] (Arya priests or clerics), [[Kshatriyas]] ([[Rajput]] warriors or Marathas), [[  Vaishya]] (Turani Dravidian traders or traders and farmers) and [[Shudra]] (Turani Dravidian laborers or labourers), the first two being the Aryan upper caste and the latter two the Dravidian lower caste.  According to Azmi, among them, the Shudras were persecuted and disrespected by the Aryans, and in the 20th century they converted en masse, and a large number of people converted to Islam, especially the [[Dalit]] communities in various places, including Tamil Nadu, whose voluntary conversion to Islam was received coverage from the Indian press  , whuch Azmi cites numerous sources with quotations including of [[Babasaheb Ambedkar]].<ref name="AHWT"/> Hindus then concentrated on writing texts which were divided into five eras.  respectively:<ref name=A/>
# The four Vedas were composed in the first age. According to Azmi, Vedic culture was the product of a mixture of Aryan and local Dravidian cultures.  Besides, he rejects the conventional idea of claiming the Vedas as an Abrahamic sahifah book with his own arguments.<ref name="AHWT"/>
# In the second period Hindu philosophers composed the Upanishads, incorporating the basic concepts of [[Sufism]] or Tasawwuf, associated with [[al-Hallaj]], [[Ibn Arabi]] and Sarmad Kashani, who [[Nirvana]] and composed [[Wahdat al-Wujud]] in association with [[Om]], also Ibn Habit, Ahmad Ibn Namus, [[Abu Muslim|Abu Muslim Khorasani]] and [[Abu Bakr al-Razi|Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Raji]]  propagated the concept of [[reincarnation]] of Hinduism in the name of Islam.<ref name="AHWT"/> Also at this time, an Upanishad called [[Allopanishad]] was written during the reign of the Emperor of India [[Akbar the Great|Jalal Uddin Akbar]], where the concept of God in Islam is discussed.
# Compendium of religious practices was prepared in the third period.  [[Smriti]] books were written during this time, among which [[Manusmriti]] is the most notable.
# The Aryan gods started disappearing due to the fusion of the Aryans with the inhabitants of India during the fourth period. The Aryas worshiped [[Indra]] as the god of thunder, Agni as the god of fire, Aruna as the god of the sky and [[Usha]] as the god of the morning.  But later [[Vishnu]] as the god of sustenance and [[Shiva]] as the god of destruction took their place and the [[Purana]]s were written praising these gods. At various places in the books, the story of creation, resurrection and the time between the two Manus and the time between the two destructions of the universe are given. According to Hindu belief this universe is imperishable. It is destroyed and created anew many times. Azmi also claims that, since the Aryan migration took place through Egypt and Syria during the time of the Christian [[Saint Paul]], the Aryans were later influenced by the Christian trinitarianism developed by Saint Paul to develop a trinitarian divine concept consisting of Vishnu, Brahma and Mahadeva (Shiva).<ref name="AHWT"/> 
# In the fifth age, the [[Mahabharata]], the [[Gita]] and the [[Ramayana]] were composed, which contain accounts of the battles of the Aryan leaders and their victories in war.<ref name=A/>
In addition, Hindu scriptures are said to contain descriptions of various Islamic prophecies, including [[Kalki Avatar and Muhammad|the arrival of the Islamic prophet Muhammad]], which [[Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti]] and [[Sanaullah Amritsari]] and many others described in their books the 20th century.<ref name="AHWT"/>. Azmi said,  although the Hindu scriptures are not, according to the consensus of Muslims, the Asmani Kitabs ([[Islamic holy books|heavenly books]]), there may be three possible explanations for the inclusion of these Islam-related prophecies in Hinduism,, the first is that, the religion of the Prophet Abraham appeared in Iraq during the period of the Aryans' exodus or migration, when the Aryans left their homeland, perhaps during his time, any other prohet came to India, at whose command these prophecies were incorporated, or the Aryans passing through the region took them from the Torah and the Book of Abraham,<ref name  ="AHWT"/> or, many Hindus say, the Rigveda was copied from the Torah, another view is that the Hindus copied their texts. During revision, they were inserted to please Muslim rulers during Islamic rule, according to Sultan Mubin, professor of [[Sanskrit]] at [[Shibli National College, Azamgarh|Shibli College]], they are fabrications and later additions by Hindus, incorporated by Hindus to please Muslim rulers under Muslim rule,<ref name  ="AHWT"/> such as the [[Kalki Purana]] and the [[Bhavishya Purana]], in which, there are many prophecies in Islamic affairs. Azmi argues, most of the scriptures of Hindus were translated into Arabic in [[Bayt al-Hikmah]] during the reign of Caliph [[al-Mamun|Mamub bin Al-Rashid]], but no author of that time mentioned anything about these prophecies in any of their books.  For example, [[Alberuni's India]] ("Tahqiq ma lilhind min maqulat mayqulat fi aliakal au marjula", تحقيق ما للهند من مقولة مقولة في العقل و مرذولة) and his Arabic translations of two other hindu scriptures, neither of which mentions these prophecies. Azmi claims more support for the latter view.<ref name  ="AHWT"/><ref name=A/><ref name=Ab>{{cite journal |last1=الحافي |first1=د عمر |last2=البصول |first2=السيد علي |title=البشارات بنبؤة محمد في الكتب الهندوسية المقدسة |journal=The Jordanian Journal of Islamic Studies |date=24 June 2010 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=2, 12 |url=http://repository.aabu.edu.jo/jspui/handle/123456789/363 |access-date=2 September 2022 |publisher=[[Al al-Bayt University]]}}</ref>

Azmi says about the religion of Hinduism,
{{quote|Every modern and ancient race and religion of the world has some basic beliefs and philosophies on which the followers of that religion believe.  In light of this, they solve their problems and improve their personal and social life. Researchers can gain a better understanding of the reality of an organization or religion by studying these principles. If an organization or religion does not preserve such basic principles or creeds, it can be compared to a lifeless body.  Considering this aspect, it can be said about Hinduism that this religion does not have its own basic principles or religious beliefs.  Hindu devotees also realize that their religion lacks basic tenets.  They even take pride in it.  The Hindu guru [[Gandhi]] said, “The absence of fundamental tenets of Hinduism is a proof of its greatness.  If I am asked in this regard, I will say - freedom from dogma and search for truth is the basic principle of this religion.  In this case, believing in the existence of God or not is the same.  It is not necessary for a Hindu to believe in the existence of God.  Whether one believes in it or not, he will be considered a Hindu.'  He said in his book Hindudharma, 'The peculiarity of Hinduism is that it does not cherish any particular religion. But it includes the beliefs and fundamental concepts of other religions.'<ref name="AHWT"/> That is why Hindu scholars consider all new things sacred. They think this is their goal and purpose. They consider all saints to be men sent by God—creators in human form. Even if he cherishes Hinduism and opposes them in some beliefs, they do not hesitate to regard him as an [[avatar]] until he renounces Hinduism and claims to be a Muslim or a Christian.  The main reason for this is that there is no separate measure of the religious faith of the followers of Hinduism - a follower of Hinduism is considered to be a holder of Hinduism forever.<ref name=A/>}}

Azmi says that the reason behind Hindus' negative perception of Islam is,
{{quote|In my view, Hindus do not understand the reality of Risalat and the essence of Tawheed, the main reason for their conflict and hatred with Muslims. For, those among Muslims who have pursued Hinduism-influenced [[Sufism]] have distorted the correct creeds of Islam — the creeds cherished by the Sahaba and the Tabees in the light of the Qur'an and Sunnah. And Imam [[Ahmad Ibn Hanbal]] who struggled to establish this [[Aqeedah]] (creed) and Shaikhul Islam [[Ibn Taymiyyah]] followed his path and the Imams of Ahlus Sunnat Wal Jamaat followed him. Furthermore, these Sufis mixed Islamic [[Aqeedah]] with [[Idolatry]] beliefs.  The great proof of this is the mausoleums built on many [[graves]] across India and the [[Kufr]] (anti-monotheistic) activities like Tawaf, Sijdah and prayers for help are performed around them. These works are mainly done by Hindus around their [[temple]].  Apart from this, lies and propaganda by Hindu writers about Islam and Islamic religion are equally responsible for this. They have spread massive lies about our history and the life of Rasool ﷺ. A primary student of Hindu scriptures begins his studies with a negative view of Islam and Muslims. That's why, for the Muslims of India, efforts should be made to extensively translate their religious texts into local languages. On the other hand, Muslims ruled India for about eight centuries. But there were generally not many rulers among them, except those specially favored by Allah, who took any initiative to spread the light of Islam among the Hindu masses under them.  Rather, the situation became more dangerous when Hindu scriptures like the [[Vedas]], Gita and [[Ramayana]] were translated into Arabic and Persian at their initiative;  Where they have shown indifference towards the translation of Quran, Hadith, Sirat and original and pure books containing details of Islamic religion into other local languages including Sanskrit.  Even till today no reliable pure translation of Quran has been written in [[Hindi]] language.<ref name="AHWT"/> I have read some Hindi translations of the Quran in some libraries, which have not been translated with such precision. So these should be re-examined. It would be best to have it translated anew under the supervision of an alim well-known in the field of Aqeedah and Self-Purification.<ref name="AHWT"/><ref name="A"/>

Ahmadiyya scholar [[Abdul Haq Vidyarthi]] referred [[Muhammad]] as [[Kalki]] of Hinduism in many of his books. Also [[Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti]] and [[Sanaullah Amritsari]] wrote book on the same topic.

===By Hindus===
The founder of [[Arya Samaj]], [[Dayanand Saraswati]] criticised [[Islam]] and [[Quran]] in his book [[Satyarth Prakash]] and raised 114 questions against the Quran. Another book by a member of [[Arya Samaj]] was also written in 19th century in criticism of [[Muhammad]] named [[Rangila Rasul]], which caused huge stir in Hindu-Muslim community of India, with casualties. Both books was later responsed by [[Sanaullah Amritsari]].

A few Hindu scholars like [[Ved Prakash Upaddhay]]<ref name=voice>{{cite web | url=http://www.islamicvoice.com/november.97/OURD.HTM | title=OUR DIALOGUE * Kaliki Avtar | publisher=Islamic Voice | date=November 1997 | access-date=21 February 2016 | archive-date=3 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703103431/http://www.islamicvoice.com/november.97/OURD.HTM | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Milli" >{{Cite web|url = http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2005/01-15Feb05-Print-Edition/011502200574.htm|title = Muhammad in Hindu scriptures|access-date = 2014-11-06|work = [[Milli Gazette]]}}</ref> also argue that mentions of [[Kalki]] refer to [[Muhammad]] in some Hindu scriptures.<ref name="Milli"/><ref>{{cite book | title = Oxford Handbook of Global Religions | first = Mark | last = Juergensmeyer | publisher =Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | year = 2006 | page = 520 | isbn = 978-0-19-513798-9| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lQMurMhRtfIC&q=mirza+ghulam+ahmad+and+kalki&pg=PA520
}}</ref> [[Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader)|Sri Sri Ravi Shankar]] claimed in his book "Hinduism and Islam: The Common Thread" that [[Muhammad]] is explicitly prophesied in [[Bhavishya Purana]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Hinduism & Islam: The Common Thread (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) (2002) [Kindle edition] |date=2002 |publisher=Santa Barbara, CA: Art of Living Foundation USA |page=20 |url=https://archive.org/details/hinduism-islam-common-thread |quote=The Prophet Mohammed and His Appearance in Vedic Literature  The Vedic text Bhavishya Purana (Parva 3, Khand 3, Adya 3, texts  5-6) predicts the appearance of Mohammed. Therein it states: "An  illiterate teacher will appear, Mohammed is his name, and he will give  religion to the people of the desert."}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=rasia |title=Holy books of Hindus predicted about Mohammed (pbuh): Sri Sri Ravi Shankar |url=https://archive.siasat.com/news/holy-books-hindus-predicted-mohammed-pbuh-sri-sri-ravi-shankar-1256845/ |access-date=13 September 2023 |work=The [[Siasat Daily]] – Archive |date=13 November 2017}}</ref>

Radheshyam Brahmachari in his book "Islamic Theology: It's Time to Go Home" called the Muslims of India as forced converts and urged them to return to Hinduism as their original religion.<ref name=ইধ>{{cite book |last1=ব্রহ্মচারী |first1=রাধেশ্যাম |title=নির্ঘণ্ট:ইসলামী ধর্মতত্ত্বঃ এবার ঘরে ফেরার পালা.pdf - উইকিসংকলন একটি মুক্ত পাঠাগার |publisher=উইকিসংকলন |url=https://bn.m.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%98%E0%A6%A3%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9F:%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%80_%E0%A6%A7%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%83_%E0%A6%8F%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0_%E0%A6%98%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%87_%E0%A6%AB%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0_%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE.pdf |access-date=22 April 2023 |lang=bn}}</ref> 
{{quote|It is not uncommon for a sailor to deviate from his course or to stray from his target on the night of a disaster, and it is normal for a sailor to return or attempt to return to his intended destination after the disaster has passed. But if, even after disaster, he continues to proudly claim that deviant path as the true path, and to proceed in that direction, he is no longer, in any case, a wise sailor. Needless to say, following the right path, he will arrive at a wrong address. This statement applies exclusively to the entire Muslim community in the Indian subcontinent today. Before the conquest of India by foreign Muslim invaders, all Muslims in this country were either Hindus or Buddhists, and since Buddhism was only a branch of Hinduism, all were Hindus. It is a fact of history that their forefathers became Muslims after being persecuted or seduced by Muslim rulers. In addition, this incident is not long ago. Especially in the case of Bengal it can never be more than 700 years. Because although the Muslim rule of Bengal began with the conquest of Naudiyah by [[Bakhtiyar Khilji]] in 1204 AD, in the words of Sri [[Ramesh Chandra Majumdar]], "Muslims could not conquer any region of East Bengal before the last decade of the 11th century. No region of South Bengal was conquered by the Muslims in the thirteenth century.” (History of Bangladesh, Middle Ages, p. 2). About 100 years later, the conversion process accelerated in today's Muslim-dominated East Bengal during the reign of [[Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah]], the converted son of [[Raja Ganesha|King Ganesh]]. But thousands of years before that, all today's Muslim converts were Hindus and were brought up in Hindu culture and traditions. So no doubt that is their main target. Today they are making no effort to deny the innate Hindu culture and imitate Arab culture by adopting Arabic or Persian names, eating beef and so on.  But the point is, is it possible to deny motherlike Hindu culture only through these external means? Hindu culture and Indian culture are identical. Therefore whoever will be born on this Indian soil is the one who will be born in this Indian soil without his knowledge, willingly or unwillingly while commenting on this, the poet [[Rabindranath]] says, "Nowadays some of us have started to think about this, a doubt has arisen in our minds about what we are." We are nothing else, we are Brahman. But it was a new identity.  The roots of that identity do not go far.  I do not have the basis of a mature identity than this?  Is there not a constant symptom flowing from the past in me at all?  ..Therefore, if there is any shame at all in saying that I am a Hindu, I will have to digest that shame in silence.”  (Essay: Self-Introduction).  He also says, “But can you remain a Hindu even if you join the Muslim or Christian community?  Of course I can.  There is not only an argument of transcendence in it.  .....It is true that [[Kali Charan Banerjee]] sir was a Hindu-Christian  Before him  sir [[Gaganendranath Tagore]] was a Hindu-Christian, before him [[Krishna Mohan Banerjee]] was a Hindu-Christian.  In other words, they were Hindus by race and Christians by religion.  Christian is their color, Hindu is their object.  There are thousands of Muslims in Bangladesh, the Hindus have called them Hindus or Hindus and they have also heard themselves as Hindus or Hindus.  But in spite of that they are really Hindu-Muslims” (up).  "..Muslim is a special religion, but Hinduism is not a special religion. A racial outcome of Indian history."  (up). [[Sri Aurobindo]] also said exactly the same thing. Hinduism is not just a religion like Islam or Christianity, Hinduism is the nationalism of India. So he says in his famous "Uttarpara speech, "I say that is the Sanatana Dharma which for us is nationalism. This Hindu nation was born with the Sanatana Dharma, with it it moves and with it it grows."- That is, Sanatan Dharma is our nationalism.  This Hindu nation was born with Sanatan Dharma, it is advancing and growing by adopting Sanatan Dharma.”|Islamic Theology: Now is the time to return home, (ইসলামী ধর্মতত্ত্বঃ এবার ঘরে ফেরার পালা), <ref name=ইধ/>}}

==In popular culture==
===Music===
{{Further|Kazi Nazrul Islam}}
There have been instances of syncretic cooperation on music with Islamic and Hindu themes. For example, the national poet of [[Bangladesh]], [[Kazi Nazrul Islam]], wrote many Islamic devotional songs for mainstream [[Bengali music|Bengali folk music]].<ref>Kamrunnessa Azad. 2001. Dharmiya Chetonay Nazrul. Nazrul Institute, Dhaka. 1999. pp. 173–174</ref> He also explored Hindu devotional music by composing [[Shyama Sangeet]], Durga Vandana, Sarswati Vandana, [[bhajan]]s and [[kirtan]]s, often merging Islamic and Hindu values. Nazrul's poetry and songs explored the philosophy of Islam and Hinduism.<ref>Kamrunnessa Azad. 2001. Dharmiya Chetonay Nazrul. Nazrul Institute, Dhaka. 1999. pp. 19–20</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Hinduism|Islam|Society}}<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->

* [[Criticism of Hinduism]]
* [[Criticism of Islam]]
* [[Din-i Ilahi]]
* [[Legend of Cheraman Perumals#The story of Tajuddeen]]
* [[Divisions of the world in Islam]]
* [[Hindu–Muslim unity]]
* [[Hinduism and other religions]]
* [[Islam and other religions]]
* [[Islam in South Asia]]
* [[Persecution of Hindus#During Islamic rule of the Indian sub-continent|Persecution of Hindus by Muslims]]
* [[Sufism in India]]
* [[Violence against Muslims in India]]
{{Clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{wikiquote}}
; Relations
* {{citation |last=Friedrichs |first=Jörg |title=Hindu–Muslim Relations: What Europe Might Learn from India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=38xmDwAAQBAJ |year=2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-429-86207-6}}
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=Meenakshi |author-link=Meenakshi Jain |title=Parallel Pathways: Essays on Hindu-Muslim Relations 1707–1857 |publisher=Konark Publishers |year=2010 |isbn=9788122007831 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XjGicQAACAAJ |ref={{sfnref|Jain, Parallel Pathways|2010}}}}
* {{citation |last=Sikand |first=Yoginder |title=Muslims in India Since 1947: Islamic Perspectives on Inter-Faith Relations |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415314862}}

; Islam in South Asia
* {{citation |last=Holt |first=Peter M. |title=The Cambridge History of Islam |year=1977 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521291378 |edition=New |editor=Peter Malcolm Holt  |editor2=Ann K. S. Lambton  |editor3=Bernard Lewis}}
* {{citation |last=Khalidi |first=Omar |title=Islam and democratization in Asia |date=2009 |publisher=Cambria Press |isbn=978-1604976328 |editor=Shiping Hua}}
* {{citation |last=Metcalf |first=Barbara D. |title=Islam in South Asia in Practice |year=2009 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691044200 |editor=Barbara D. Metcalf}}

; Communal violence
* {{citation |last=Wilkinson |first=Steven I. |title=Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521536059}}
* {{cite journal |last=Reference |first=Blackwell |editor1-first=Duncan |editor1-last=Townson |title=Indian communal massacres (1946–7) |journal=Blackwell Reference |doi=10.1111/b.9780631209379.1999.x |ref= {{sfnref |Bihar}}|year=1999 |isbn=9780631209379 }}
* {{cite web |last=Markovits |first=Claude |title=India from 1900 to 1947 |url=http://www.massviolence.org/India-from-1900-to-1947?cs=print#outil_sommaire_3 |publisher=Mass Violence.Org }}
* {{citation |last=D'Costa |first=Bina |title=Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia |year=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415565660}}
* {{citation |last=Ghosh |first=Partha S. |title=Peace Studies: An Introduction To the Concept, Scope, and Themes |year=2004 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-0761996606 |editor=Ranabir Samaddar}}
* {{citation |last=Hussain |first=Monirul |title=The Fleeing People of South Asia: Selections from Refugee Watch |date=2009 |publisher=Anthem |isbn=978-8190583572 |page=261 |editor=Sibaji Pratim Basu}}
* {{citation |last=Berglund |first=Henrik |title=Religion, Politics, and Globalization: Anthropological Approaches |year=2011 |publisher=Berghahn |isbn=978-1845457716 |page=105 |editor=Galina Lindquist  |editor2=Don Handelman}}
* {{citation |last=Smith |first=Glenn |title=Violent Internal Conflicts in Asia Pacific: Histories, Political Economies, and Policies |year=2005 |publisher=Yayasan Obor |isbn=9789794615140 |editor=Asvi Warman Adam  |editor2=Dewi Fortuna Anwar}}
* {{citation |last=Pandey |first=Gyanendra |title=Routine violence: nations, fragments, histories |date=2005 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0804752640 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/routineviolencen0000pand }}
* {{citation |last=Ghassem-Fachandi |first=Parvis |title=Pogrom in Gujarat: Hindu Nationalism and Anti-Muslim Violence in India |date=2012 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691151779 |page=2}}
* {{citation |last=Metcalf |first=Barbara |title=Communalism and Globalization in South Asia and its Diaspora |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415857857 |editor=Deana Heath  |editor2=Chandana Mathur}}

; General
* {{citation |last=Brown |first=J. M. |author-link=Judith M. Brown |year=1994 |title=Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy |edition=2nd |series=The Short Oxford History of the Modern World |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-873113-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaKdsF8WzbcC}}
* {{cite book |title=History of Medieval India |first=Satish |last=Chandra |author-link=Satish Chandra (historian) |year=2007 |publisher=Orient Longman |place=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-250-3226-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Chua |first=Amy |date=2007 |title=Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance – and Why They Fall |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0-385-51284-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/dayofempirehowhy00chua_0}}
* {{Citation |last=Fowler |first=Jeaneane D. |year=2002 |title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1898723936 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJbsAAAAIAAJ}}
* {{citation |last1=Metcalf |first1=Barbara D. |last2=Metcalf |first2=Thomas R. |author1-link=Barbara Metcalf |author2-link=Thomas R. Metcalf |year=2006 |title=A Concise History of Modern India |edition=2nd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-68225-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuESgYNYPl0C}}

{{Hindudharma}}
{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hindu-Islamic relations}}
[[Category:Hinduism and Islam| ]]